The transition from authoritarianism to democracy is notoriously difficult, according to Council on Foreign Relations analysts Isobel Coleman and Terra Lawson-Remer. Countries like Egypt, Tunisia and Myanmar should draw on the democratization experience of Poland, Ukraine, Thailand, Indonesia, …

On May 30, 2013, a High-Level Panel of experts will present recommendations to the U.N. Secretary-General on the global development agenda after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“But will the panel take its own jargon seriously and listen to the …

“Democracy promotion is beset by self-doubt” and facing a threat to its credibility in the face of a “democratic disconnect” between citizens and institutions in established democracies, according to a new report.

An insightful and valuable analysis from the German …

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize is awarded each year by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation to reward outstanding civil society action in the …

The global democratic regression has stalled and some of the world’s most authoritarian regions have registered significant gains over the past year, but “the overall pace of democratic change remained stagnant” during 2012, according to a new survey.

The democracy …

The Obama administration’s approach to democracy promotion is marked by continuity with its predecessors, says a new analysis. But the bipartisan consensus in favor of advancing democracy may be eroded as the rise of authoritarian powers “will make the projection …

Newly emerging popular movements for reform were the driving force behind the Middle East’s major gains in democratic rights last year, according to Freedom in the World 2013, Freedom House’s annual report. But other regions experienced setbacks due to …

Today is international Human Trafficking Awareness Day – no more appropriate day to view Radio Free Asia’s award-winning series (above) on the issue.  

“Nonprofits are asking the Obama administration to renew the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which would …

The global swing states of Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Turkey are prepared to play a role in promoting human rights and democracy, writes Brookings analyst Ted Piccone. But this is to be done on their own terms: through quiet diplomacy …

“Human rights has become a new world ideology, even a kind of secular religion,” writes Columbia University’s Andrew J. Nathan, reviewing a “superb” history of the international human rights movement. Recent history and current events demonstrate that “continued pursuit …